Ecological and environmental factors influencing exclusion patterns of phytoplankton size classes in lake systems

There are three netCDF data files comprise of a multidimensional dataset with different attributes. The files store solution for, respectively, the standard allometric relationships ('standard_PZ_365.nc'), the variations to phytoplankton maximum growth rate, μmax ('alpha_mu_PZ_365.nc'), and the variations to zooplankton maximum ingestion rates, Imax ('alpha_im_PZ_365.nc'). 

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##### 'standard_PZ_365.nc' #####
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This netCDF datafile, 'standard_PZ_365.nc', stores the simulation data for a standard set of allometric relationships listed in the main text. The dataset contains phytoplankton biomass ('Phy'; Pi, i=1,2,..,150) and zooplankton biomass ('Zoo'; Zj, j=1,2) data of each size class from day 0 to day 365. It also contains simulation results from different environmental conditions, nutrient levels, mixing frequencies, and grazing strategies.

# To extract the data, one could use the netCDF4 library in python (https://unidata.github.io/netcdf4-python/)

import netCDF4    
out = netCDF4.Dataset('workingdirectory/filename.nc')  # output file
sol_phy = out.variables['Phy'][:]
sol_zoo = out.variables['Zoo'][:]
sol_nut = out.variables['Nut'][:]

# The shape of sol_phy, sol_zoo, and sol_nut correspond to the below descriptions.

The coordinates (dimensions) of the 'Phy' dataset are as below:

'time': '365 days',
'Ps': '150 phytoplankton size classes ranged from 1 to 100µmESD',
'nut': '3 different nutrient levels are considered: Oligotrophic (1µmolN/L); Eutrophic (15µmolN/L); Hypertrophic (50µmolN/L)',
'mix': '3 different mixing regimes are considered: Constant (No mixing during the year); Medium (4 mixing/year); High (12 mixing/year)',
'GrazStrtgy': '3 different combinations of grazing strategies are considered: SS (two specialists); SG (one specialist and one generalist); GG (two generalists)',

The coordinates (dimensions) of the 'Zoo' dataset are as below:

'time': '365 days',
'Zs': '2 zooplankton size classes at 5 and 200µmESD',
'nut': '3 different nutrient levels are considered: Oligotrophic (1µmolN/L); Eutrophic (15µmolN/L); Hypertrophic (50µmolN/L)',
'mix': '3 different mixing regimes are considered: Constant (No mixing during the year); Medium (4 mixing/year); High (12 mixing/year)',
'GrazStrtgy': '3 different combinations of grazing strategies are considered: SS (two specialists); SG (one specialist and one generalist); GG (two generalists)',
 

The coordinates (dimensions) of the 'Nut' dataset are as below:

'time': '365 days',
'nut': '3 different nutrient levels are considered: Oligotrophic (1µmolN/L); Eutrophic (15µmolN/L); Hypertrophic (50µmolN/L)',
'mix': '3 different mixing regimes are considered: Constant (No mixing during the year); Medium (4 mixing/year); High (12 mixing/year)',
'GrazStrtgy': '3 different combinations of grazing strategies are considered: SS (two specialists); SG (one specialist and one generalist); GG (two generalists)',

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##### 'alpha_mu_PZ_365.nc' #####
##### 'alpha_im_PZ_365.nc'  #####
#############################
These netCDF datafile support the experimental simulation data on variations (+/-50%) on the slope of allometric relationships for phytoplankton maxmimum growth rate (μmax) and zooplankton maximum ingestion rate (Imax). The dimensions in the file are similar to the standard file, with an additional dimension storing the variations in the allometric parameters.

The coordinates (dimensions) of the 'Phy' dataset are as below:

Dimensions of data:
'time': '365 days',
'Ps': '150 phytoplankton size classes ranged from 1 to 100µmESD',
'nut': '3 different nutrient levels are considered: Oligotrophic (1µmolN/L); Eutrophic (15µmolN/L); Hypertrophic (50µmolN/L)',
'mix': '3 different mixing regimes are considered: Constant (No mixing during the year); Medium (4 mixing/year); High (12 mixing/year)',
'GrazStrtgy': '3 different combinations of grazing strategies are considered: SS (two specialists); SG (one specialist and one generalist); GG (two generalists)',
'mu_slope': '3 different allometric relationships (including the standard one) on phytoplankton maximum growth rate are tested by systematically manipulating the slope of the relationship, causing a trade-off that favours larger cells as the value increases'

OR

'im_slope': '3 different allometric relationships (including the standard one) on zooplankton maximum ingestion rate are tested by systematically manipulating the slope of the relationship, causing a trade-off that favours smaller cells as the value increases'